A MIGRATION report out last week reveals that young people expect to leave Gwynedd because of low pay scales and few employment opportunities.

The study entitled The dynamics of demographic change and migration in North West Wales carried out by Bangor university on behalf of Gwynedd and Anglesey councils, Elwa and the North Wales Local Employment Observatory reveals that school leavers are moving out of Gwynedd and Anglesey in droves because they cannot get work.

The hard-hitting report also reveals that incoming residents, many of whom are retired, believe that Gwynedd will improve their quality of life.

The report states: "The study was commissioned primarily as a result of concern about the loss of population in the area - particularly of young people. In Gwynedd concerns are focused particularly on the attraction of the Bangor/A55 corridor area to the detriment of more peripheral rural communities in the area.

"Current estimates of future population indicate that Gwynedd s population is expected to remain relatively stable between now and 2016 whilst Anglesey s population is expected to continue to decline.

"It was also found that many young people viewed young people moving out of Gwynedd and North Wales as a natural part of their life cycle and self-development, but significantly a majority also anticipated returning at some stage in their lives to raise children.

"However, concern was expressed about the availability of appropriate jobs, salaries and housing on their return."

According to the report out and in-migration has created new tensions between English and Welsh people in North West Wales.

It states: "Movement into the area from outside was widely perceived as creating social cultural issues - relationships between English and Welsh. There was surprising evidence of mutual suspicion and lack of understanding. People entering the area were often poorly informed about local cultural, linguistic and social patterns."

Employers in North West Wales have also complained of a skills and degree education shortage because many young employees have flown the nest according to the survey.

Coleg Menai's Caernarfon centre manager John Penri said that the new resource centre on the Maes has been built to help tackle the old phenomenon of outward migration of young skilled people.

He said: "The Institute of Welsh Affairs said that in the past we had farming, mining, quarrying with relatively low low skilled labour intensive employment exploiting raw materials but those days are gone and we have shifted into a new period.

"The only way we are going to overcome the problem of our younger people leaving is to upskill our workforce and for people to take advantage of the new opportunitries arising in the community.

"We are going to have a new resource centre on the MAes which will provide training and skill upgrade and business support courses that will help reskill the new worksorce emerging in Gwynedd."